How to use Snipping Tool OCR on Windows
- Open the image on screen and capture a snip. Any picture, scan or PDF page that is visible on your screen works.
- Select Text actions. This turns on the Optical Character Recognition feature for the snip[1].
- Copy the text. Select and copy specific text, or use Copy all text. Quick redact hides email addresses and phone numbers[1].
Microsoft says all text recognition in Snipping Tool runs locally on your device[1].
Other OCR tools on Windows
| Option | How you use it | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Snipping Tool, Text actions | Capture a snip, then select Text actions[1] | Selected text or all text on the clipboard[1] |
| PowerToys Text Extractor | Press Win + Shift + T and drag over any area of the screen[2] | The text in that area on the clipboard. It reads only languages whose OCR language pack is installed[2] |
| OneNote, Copy Text from Picture | Right click a picture in OneNote for Microsoft 365, 2024, 2021 or 2016[3] | Text to paste into Word or Outlook. Some results take up to 24 to 48 hours[3] |
| Google Drive in the browser | Right click a PDF or photo of 2 MB or smaller, Open with Google Docs[4] | A Google Doc. Lists, tables and columns are not likely to be detected[4] |
| LoreAI free OCR in the browser | Upload a JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC or one-page PDF up to 5 MB, 1 free run a day with no account, 10 with a free one | The whole page as text, a .txt file or a Word file with tables |
Which OCR should you use on Windows?
Snipping Tool is the quickest for a line, a paragraph or an error message on screen, because it is already there. Text Extractor suits people who copy text from the screen all day and like a shortcut.
Both put plain text on the clipboard. When the page has a table, a form layout or a numbered list, the structure is gone once you paste. The OCR on this page reads the whole file and gives it back as a Word document with headings, lists and tables in place, which is what you want for an invoice, a transcript or a filled in form.
OCR for a scanned PDF of many pages
Screen tools read one screen at a time. For a long scanned PDF, use the LoreAI app. It reads every page of a PDF, JPG or PNG with OCR, stamps and handwriting included, and returns one editable Word file in the original order. Your first document is free, up to 3 pages and 3 MB.
The app can also translate the document into one of 105 languages in the same step, with the source language detected automatically. For the steps on a single scan, read OCR PDF to Word.
Can Windows read text in other languages?
PowerToys Text Extractor reads only the languages whose OCR language pack is installed in Windows, and its default is based on your Windows system language[2]. A page in Arabic, Chinese or Korean needs the right pack first.
The free OCR on this page needs no language pack. It reads printed text in the language it was written in. See Arabic OCR, Chinese OCR and Korean OCR.
Questions people ask
Does Windows have built-in OCR?
Yes. Snipping Tool has Text actions, which runs OCR on a snip so you can copy the text[1].
How do I copy text from an image on Windows?
Open the image, capture it with Snipping Tool, select Text actions and choose Copy all text[1].
What is the shortcut for Text Extractor?
The default is Win + Shift + T, after you install Microsoft PowerToys[2].
Can I OCR a PDF to Word on Windows for free?
Yes. Upload page 1 to the box on this page and download a Word file, with no account. The LoreAI app converts every page.
Sources
- Microsoft Support: Use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots, accessed November 5, 2026
- Microsoft Learn: PowerToys Text Extractor utility for Windows, accessed November 5, 2026
- Microsoft Support: Copy text from pictures and file printouts using OCR in OneNote, accessed November 5, 2026
- Google Drive Help: Convert PDF and photo files to text, accessed November 5, 2026
By Matt Mountain ·